UPDATED, 12:53 p.m., see bottom of post:GABF official credits quick sell-out to growth of craft beer and a ticket-buying public that saw past festivals sell out and chose not to wait this year; acknowledges that brokers try to get around whatever protections are in place.

There were plenty of signs that tickets to this year’s Great American Beer Festival would not last long, but did anyone see this coming?

All 49,000 tickets to the three-day October event were sold out 45 minutes after the public sale began at 10 a.m. MT this morning. That shatters the previous record – a week – from 2011.

This will undoubtedly reignite a debate about whether the festival needs to make significant changes in light of the demand, which organizers have been reluctant to do.

But even more pressing will be the matter of whether the tickets were snatched up by beer lovers or scalpers. With the event’s popularity soaring, did the professionals devise a system for hoarding tickets to this year’s sessions, leaving beer lovers out in the cold? It’s a serious concern.

Our new iPad app serves as a guide to metro Denver’s bountiful breweries, beer bars and bottle shops, the holy trinity of craft beer enjoyment for followers and fans. Download the app for iPad .
Next time you head for a beer in Boulder, don’t forget your friend, Beers of Boulder and Boulder County, an iPad app from the Daily Camera. Download the app for iPad .

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In Colorado, our pint glasses overflow with excellent beer. New breweries, new batches, festivals every other week. How lucky are we? First Drafts is The Denver Post's beer blog aimed at helping you keep tabs on the state's ever-expanding craft beer culture. We offer a mash of news, event coverage, homegrown stories, tasting notes and tips to help you imbibe. Expert drinker or homebrewer? Let us know what you're loving about Colorado's beer scene. Not sure exactly what a firkin is? No worries, let us be your guide. Go ahead. Belly up and drink it in!